The Walla Walla County Board of Commissioners on June 2 approved a corrections proposal to enter into a contract with Oregon Treatment and Recovery LLC to allow the county to continue administering methadone for inmates who arrive having been prescribed the medication, and to accept methadone deliveries when required.

Corrections Commander Stephen Barker told the board the change follows legal developments. Barker said conference presentations and lawsuits across the U.S. showed jails that forcibly switched detainees from prescribed medications to jail-prescribed regimens faced Americans with Disabilities Act and Eighth Amendment claims. "She suggested the only thing that we don't have now is methadone," Barker summarized of his medical team's findings, noting the county already provides Suboxone but lacks the licensing to prescribe methadone internally.

Sheriff’s staff and the commander said the county will bill current federal/state mechanisms for the medication once the Department of Health Care Authority (HCA) Medicaid waiver goes live on July 1; until then, HCA grant funds would cover costs. Commissioners asked for adjustments to the contract’s fee schedule to ensure that services not provided (for example, Suboxone dispensing) are not billed through the new vendor.